Welcome to the COST Action GLISTEN’s web page!

The main objective of the Action is to create a pan-European multidisciplinary network of researchers investigating G protein-coupled receptor signalling to gain in-depth understanding of GPCR mechanisms and to use this knowledge to design chemical modulators of GPCRs.

Why are we interested in GPCRs?

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of proteins involved in signal transduction across membranes and one of the most important pharmaceutical drug target classes. In the past five years, an unprecedented number of X-ray structures of GPCRs have been solved, providing first peeks at the molecular details of their function. Based on these and forthcoming structures, this COST Action brings together experts in a wide range of complementary methods to unravel details of the activation mechanism, ligand binding, and the effect of the membrane and other interaction partners on GPCRs. The information exchange that is made possible by the COST Action will lead to innovative insights into mechanistic details of GPCR function. This will in turn give rise to novel effector molecules to be used as lead structures for drug development, offering valuable new opportunities for European pharmaceutical research and industry.